Cornbellys

It has been a few years since our family went to an "official" pumpkin patch-fall activity place.  So we decided to give Cornbellys at Thanksgiving point a try.  We were pleasantly surprised by the numerous fun activities that were available there.  We only touched about a third of all you could do.  They had everything from pig races, several corn mazes, haunted houses, corn cob shooting,  tractor and duck races, hay bale climbs, slides, jumping things, scooters, tether ball, big corn volleyball, and much much more.  Our main focus was the big corn maze but we were able to squeeze in a few other activities as well.  This will be the only place we go in the future.


The evening weather was perfectly pleasant and we enjoyed a nice outing as a family.  (Alyssa is visibly absent in the pictures because she opted to go to a BYU women's soccer game with Grandpa instead).

8 Miles

Yep, 8 miles!!!

Today I ran 8 miles by myself.  A great accomplishment because I consider myself a social runner.

I ran from my house all the way to Roger's office.  Still can't believe it.

Not only that, I did it in 1 hr. 21 min., a 10 minute mile.

Roger and I are signed up the the Halloween Half Marathon.  I think I might actually be able to do it.

Great way to start my day!

No Words

I entitled this post "No Words"  because no matter what I write it won't do it justice for the events of this past weekend.  But I will attempt to give a brief summary of one of the most amazing, emotionally draining, spiritual and heartbreaking couple of days.

First off, the ward had the funeral for John Pearson this past Friday.  This was Roger's first funeral as a Bishop and he was exceptionally nervous.  Thankfully, he got to know Brother Pearson quite well as his home teacher before his cancer ever came to be.  He felt like he knew him enough that he could offer something about him.

John was a member of the Tabernacle Choir years ago and has written over 180 hymns.  Over 80 of them he collaborated with Janice Kapp Perry.  His music was beautifully written.  So about 1/3rd of the Choir, the choir organist, the director and President of the choir attended and sang at his funeral.   This was astounding.  The room was filled with the voices of angels and the spirit was so strong.   Then came time for Roger to speak.  Luckily, one of my friends willingly left to pick up the carpool so that I could hear his words.  I marveled at the man who delivered that talk.  It was exceptional.  I always knew I married a great man but at that moment I could see his true potential and the powerful servant of God that he is today.  Incredible.  The talk was perfect and my love for him grew tenfold that day.

I included a letter from the President of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and I think it speaks for itself.

But Roger's day wasn't over yet.  After the cemetery, he rushed home to take Ryan and some other boys to the Father and Son's camp out.  It is hosted by the Bishopric and as drained as Roger was after that day,  he put a smile on and off he went.

I think it was successful,  Ryan surely enjoyed it.  Well the moment he got home the phone started ringing and there was all kind of catastrophes happening in the ward.  I didn't see my husband that day as he was dealing with these different issues.

Due to the sensitive nature of these issues,  I know very little about the events of the day.  But I do know enough to know that my husband was being directed step by step by the Lord.  In all of his life,  he has never had to deal with some of the things he dealt with that day.  I don't know how he did it.  But I know that lives were seriously saved  and changed because he was was in tune with the spirit and righteous enough to listen. 

This has been a super rough week.  One of the hardest ever as a Bishop.  Come to think of it, the whole year has been challenging.  But I can speak without a shadow of doubt that Roger is supposed to be the Bishop of this ward at this time.  He is a great man,  and I will forever be grateful that I married him and that he is the father of my children.  We are truly blessed.

Reflections

It was exactly one year ago today when Roger was ordained to be the Bishop of the Jacob's Ranch 1st ward.

I can barely wrap my head around the fact that it has been a year.  In some ways it went so fast and furious.  This year has been filled with ups and downs and new challenges and blessings.  More than I ever thought possible.  And then on the other hand, it feels like Roger has been the Bishop forever.

I really don't have the words to sum up the roller coaster ride that is being the "Bishops Wife".  I know that my year has been nothing like my husband's and yet it has been an adjustment for me and the whole family.  At times it feel quite isolating and lonely.  But at the same time, there have been so many blessings and many positive experiences.

Regardless of my feelings, it has been amazing to see Roger grow into this calling.  He was a good man before and now he is becoming great.  I know that he has helped many people and the Lord has used him as a tool for much good.  I have seen his spirituality grow and his powerful answers to prayers.  I have seen him weighted down with much stress and sadness and have seen the Lord lift him up and keep him going.

I wish there was more I could do for him.  So much of the burden he has to carry alone and that hurts.  But I know that even if I don't understand it all now, that there is a purpose for everything and Heavenly Father is helping him every step of the way.

I am proud of the man I married and know that he was chosen to be the Bishop.

Would I ask for this calling . . .  probably not.  Would I change it . .. .DEFINITELY not!

I Feel So Domestic

It has been an extremely crazy week.  I am not sure I could have packed in another activity if I had tried.  I am learning that this is my life right now and for the most part I love it.

Just a few of the activities of this week included:

Dentist Appointments
Haircuts for 4 out of 5 of my family members.
3 Soccer games (two of them being "away" games in Provo and Spanish Fork)
Soccer practice and conditioning
Soccer Team Dinner
Scouts
Visiting Teaching 2 of my 3 ladies
Primary stuff
Spent one day with my friend and taking pictures of her twins
Re-organizing our food storage
Primary stuff (nothing new there, just always a ton to do)
Making Dinner for a Family in the Ward
Attending a Priesthood Advancement Ordination and Dinner
A family Dinner
A Block Party
And of course the usual, laundry, dinners, excercise, homework, routines, scripture study and so forth.

Whew what a week!  And yet that isn't even what I am writing about.  I am here to say how Domesticated I feel.  In addition to everything else, I cut and sewed 12 Stockings for a humanitarian service project in our ward (thanks to Holly Mcmillan who helped me).  I also bottled 21 Quarts of Peaches.  I cut and froze an additional 7 quarts of peaches.  I even made my first homemade peach pie with a fancy woven crust.   I made and canned 9 bottles of Raspberry-Peach Jam (with raspberries from my own garden) and another 8 bottles of plain peach jam.  Wow.  I was so impressed with myself.  I never thought I could do all that canning on my own.  My mom got me started and then off I went.  The crazy thing was that I kind of enjoyed it and was way proud of my end products.

Maybe this is the start of something new. . .  Time will have to tell.

Look How Far We've Come

Here is a picture of one of our very first meals together as a newly married couple.  We had just got back from our honeymoon and reality hit.  What would we make for dinner?  (Little did I know that this was just the beginning of that question that would plague me for the rest of my life). We both had lived on our own for a long time and even served missions so we knew how to cook for ourselves.  We just didn't have much experience cooking for our own little family on a meager student budget.  I am not even sure what we threw together in the end (I can see some sort of muffin from a mix).  We didn't even have a table yet to eat upon, so we sat on the floor and put our humble meal on a lap tray.  The best part of the meals in those days were the minimal dishes and clean up, not the food itself.

Well I am here to say that those days are behind us.  Not only do we have a kitchen table now :), but we have 3 additional mouths to feed.  We have come a long way, and I think we have become quite the gourmet chefs (relatively speaking).  Being Food Network junkies has also helped the cause.  So here is a rundown of our latest Sunday dinner.

-Seasoned Rib Eye Steaks grilled to perfection and accompanied by a Mushroom and Marsala Cream Sauce
-Fresh Silver Queen Corn from our own garden.
-Baked potatoes with sour cream and chives (also from our garden)
-Homemade rolls with homemade a Raspberry/Honey Spread.
-Home grown green beans cooked with bacon and brown sugar

And for Dessert:
-Homemade Vanilla Ice cream topped with a rich homemade Hot Fudge Sauce.  Yum!

This is just a sampling of our many culinary feats.  Great job honey on our growth in the Kitchen.  Here is to many more years of fine dining and lots of miles running to burn off all those extra calories.

The R.A.G.E.

Fall Soccer - A first for our family

Alyssa has played soccer since she was in Kindergarten.  She loved it for many years, went through a phase when she wasn't so sure about it and then eventually swung back around to having a "passion" for the game.  A couple of years ago, we learned about the existence of a competitive league.  Since Alyssa is my oldest, there are many things I learn about "after the fact"  This was one of them.  By time we decided it would be a good thing for Alyssa she was too old for the team here in Saratoga Springs.  So we did what we always did and signed up for the city league.

We then learned of another opportunity for a team in Lehi and tryouts were this past June.  Alyssa was psyched and determined to play.  Tryouts turned out to be a joke.  Players were already chosen by "who you know" and so forth.  Alyssa was  heartbroken.  Needless to say, it was a rough time for her having to "give up on her dream".

I have tried to teach Alyssa that there are many times in life when we are disappointed and don't get what we want.  I also tried to teach her that The Lord has an understanding of each of us and knows what is best.  That He will bless us in ways that we don't always understand.

That very thing happened to Alyssa.  An incredible opportunity came to Alyssa to be a part of a new team right here in Saratoga Springs.  She got on the team without difficulty, knew many of the girls beforehand, and our home field is Westlake High School.  They have an excellent coach that has played professionally and is a woman that knows and understands girls.  Overall we couldn't have asked for a better situation.

They worked their butts off this summer getting in shape and learning to play as a team.  We have some disadvantages because we are a new team that will play teams that have been together for many years.  It is going to be a rough year but provide a lot of opportunity to play and grow.  This is exactly what Alyssa needs.  She hopes to play for the high school someday and maybe even BYU.  This will be the first stepping stone.

 

So the team played their first game on a gorgeous morning.  They came together and even though they lost, it felt like a triumph.

Alyssa is having a great time and that is the most important thing.  It is fun to watch the games since they are certainly on a different skill level.  It should be a fun season.